


Heartaches and Headaches

by qthedoor



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-16
Updated: 2018-02-21
Packaged: 2019-02-03 04:29:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12741033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/qthedoor/pseuds/qthedoor
Summary: Cyrus breaks up with Iris. Iris confides in Amber.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> There isn't too much we know about these two, so I apologize for having to make some stuff up. I also apologize if you don't think they're in character or anything like that. Hopefully we see their characters much more as the season goes on so that I get more material to work with.

By the time Amber was finally able to clock out, she was halfway to passing out on The Spoon’s linoleum floor. It’d been a long day of catering to every insolent, headache inducing person to walk through the double doors of the diner, and her obligatory smile had well passed worn to a grimace.

The blonde let out a deep sigh as she untied her apron with less haste, remembering the stack of homework she had to look forward to once she did get home. She could usually have her homework done without a problem, leaving the rest of her free time to be just that: free time. Her new obligations with waitressing left her minimal hours, only to be filled with essay writing and math problems. If she were to be honest, it had done even more to isolate her from what friends she had.

Plus, the hat they made her wear for her uniform made her look downright ridiculous, in Amber’s opinion.

“Your parent here to pick you up?"

Amber quirked the end of her lips up in an attempt at a smile, nodded, and forced out an _almost_ enthusiastic, “Yep.”

“Alright, good,” the diner owner, who’s first name Amber still didn’t really know, voiced in an impressive monotone, "I’ll see you on Monday.”

Amber’s annoyance and exhaustion coursed through her very veins, making it extremely hard to not just answer another, “yep”, in the same monotone. She gripped her bag harder and instead bid the burly man a good night with faux delight.

It caught the blonde off guard when she saw her father sitting innocently in the drivers seat of her family car moments later. She knew that, with father no longer working day in and day out, it gave him the responsibility of driving her wherever she needed to go. It was just still strange to see him around her, so out of his element without his business suit and shiny dress shoes. He was also usually so prideful regarding what type of car he was driving around in; it was weird to see him reduced to their now singular vehicle, a simple Subaru Impreza.

Entering the passenger seat, Amber immediately felt the slight tension and noted the tick in her father’s strong jaw.

Upon sensing that she was expected to greet him first, Amber gave a weak smile and almost murmured a brief, “Hi.”

He greeted her distractedly, not even sparing another glance as they pulled from the spot.

Amber may not have known her father very well, but she got the hint that it wasn’t the right time for blasé conversation. Immediately, her phone was in her hands to save her from the silence.

**Amber 8:09PM**   
**well, week two of waitressing has been ranked even lower than last week**

**Amber 8:09PM**   
**dad situation ranked even lower than that. brava**

Amber expects Iris to answer back a while later asking for details, but instead the three typing dots appear instantly.

**Iris 8:10PM**   
**can we facetime**

Frowning down at her phone, Amber regarded her friend’s odd text and the little jump her heart performed in her chest when reading it. The aspect of homework weighed heavy in her mind, but priorities won out. It was a good deed to help a friend in need, right?

**Amber 8:11PM**   
**uh yeah sure**

**Amber 8:12PM**   
**is there a problem?**

**Iris 8:12PM**   
**i don’t even know anymore i need your help**

Well that settled it; Amber’s homework would have to wait however long this would take. If Iris was still coming to her for help, even after all the other times when Amber’s advice was mean spirited and left Iris hesitant to agree, Amber would jump at the chance to exercise her new mentality, hopefully successfully changing how Iris saw her.

She dragged a hand through her blonde locks in thought. Amber sighed louder than she’d anticipated in the quietness of the car, straightening when her father's intense eyes flitted to her frame.

She didn’t know why or what for, but she felt like she needed to blurt an apology. Instead, she shifted her gaze out the dark window, fidgeting with a lock her hair until it was time leave the uncomfortable car ride.


	2. Chapter 2

Amber zipped around her room trying to get herself situated before calling Iris. She stripped her blue uniform in exchange for more comfortable clothing and fiddled with her hair in the mirror, cursing that damned white hat for giving her hat hair she always tried so hard to avoid.

She didn’t know why she needed to look so good to FaceTime Iris, but she didn’t dwell on it either.

Soon, Iris’ face was on Amber’s screen, usually bright features looking uncharacteristically grim.

“Iris, what’s wrong?” Amber implored, shifting on the bed after her haste.

Iris seemed to have lost confidence with the appearance of the blonde and looked down from the camera. “I thought it was going so well. There were a few blips, but I thought we got passed them. I thought the kisses were because he was younger and nervous!”

“Woah, woah, what? Iris, what’re we talking about here?”

The other girl took a visible breath, “Cyrus broke up with me. Or, we broke up mutually.”

The blonde girl felt her eyebrows raise and lips part, but no words came to her mind. It was a strange thing, to not expect the reaction she got to words she didn’t expect to hear. Emotions bubbled up inside of her and if she were to allow herself to identify them…well, let’s just say she wouldn’t be identifying them. Even if she felt like she could float to the ceiling right about then.

Finally forming words from her bobbing lips, Amber blinked down at the screen, “Oh.”

Well, she formed word. Singular.

On the other end, the brunette was continuing in a string of words, “It happened earlier, and I didn’t tell you, I know. You’ve just been so tangled up in all of this new stuff and new feelings…”

Amber’s back immediately got rigid at her words. How would Iris know that? Had Jonah seriously not been able to hold his tongue for that long- and to the one person he should tell, no less?

“…with your family problems,” Amber deflated in relief, “and Jonah says you’re doing some kind of self analysis stuff. You _have_ changed your attitude towards Andi and all of them.”

Iris stopped and finally looked up at Amber through the screen, studying her.

“You talked to Jonah about me?” was all Amber could ask, despite the questions she had about Cyrus.

“Well, we spent a lot of time together now that he likes to hang out with…Cyrus,” she explained guiltily, “Everyone’s concerned about how you’ve “gone nice”, but Jonah kind of cleared the air, I guess?”

“Oh,” was the intelligent response Amber had to this new information.

“Yeah…” Iris trailed off, still looking at Amber, “we haven’t really talked much lately about how you’re feeling with the whole Andi and Jonah thing.”

Amber stared at one of her textbooks lying on her bedroom floor. It's spine was worn and battered from years of use, nearly ready to snap in half.

“Yeah…” the blonde found herself mimicking the other girl. She changed her approach, “Well first, tell me why in the world Cyrus Goodman has broken up with you.”

Iris gets a indecisive look on her face, then, and Amber wonders at it.

“Well, I can’t tell you the reason because it’s not my place to say.”

This confused Amber further.

“You can’t tell me why he doesn’t want to date you after what you said earlier? About how you guys are _so_ compatible," her tone is now bitter. "Like you said, you guys were practically all over each other all the time,” the blonde muttered the last part in her old Amber type way.

After realizing how that sounded to Iris from the look on her face, Amber tried to a different approach again.

“I mean, how am I supposed to help with slowly crumbling his sense of self and masculinity from the inside out if I don’t know how he wronged you?”

Iris visibly pales and Amber backtracks again.

“That was a joke, Iris. I was trying to be funny.”

“Oh,” Iris chuckles a little as the color slowly returns across her soft cheeks. “Well, I’m sorry. I still don’t think I can tell you. It wouldn’t be right.” She pauses. “It’s just tough because it isn’t anything bad, really. It’s just shitty for me. I don’t really know how to feel about it.”

Amber sits and listens with rapt attention, trying to discern what it is she could be referring to. Iris goes on like this, talking about the situation in vague terms, and Amber accepted that she wouldn’t be getting a definitive answer that night. She offers the best advice and condolences she can, consciously remembering that she didn’t need to follow up every soft spoken thing she said with a biting insult. 

After a while, Iris went on to talk about her day taking care of her younger brothers. Amber got into a more comfortable position, homework left undone in her bag. Listening to the relaxing timbre of the brunettes voice, she felt herself slowly drifting off as it came around the third hour they had been on the phone.

When the blonde had completely fallen asleep, the brunette had giggled at the sight. She also would’ve ventured to admit she had stayed a while longer to admire the rare peaceful and soft impression of Amber’s sleeping form, but, over everything, Iris was very good at keeping her lips sealed.


	3. Chapter 3

Days after she was informed of Iris and Cyrus’ split, Amber found herself idling outside of Grant High School with no real destination or plan. She had a rare day free from her waitressing responsibilities, but no one to drive her home. She’d seen a flash of Iris’ hair down the hall after the final bell had rung, but meeting up with her was a hopeless feat with the bustling, congested crowd.

The grip on her bag was unforgiving as she fleetingly returned a hello from another passer-by. She didn’t remember said student’s name, but she briefly thought maybe she should, what with the familiarity they used to greet her and call her by name.

She thought again of Iris. The girl had been her normal self in school, the pair of them walking side by side, chatting as if without a care in the world. They sat at lunch with a handful of other friends, but as everyone came and went, Iris and Amber remained attached at the hip. 

Iris, in her part, marveled at Amber’s candid smiles and unrestrained laughter. It was easier, now, with Amber being more open and susceptible. In return, the brunette seemed willing to let her guard down more as well. Of course, it pained Amber to realize there had been some guardedness there in the first place.

The FaceTime nights ago had done wonders; Amber entered the school the following day, a smiling Iris materializing faithfully at her side. Iris had smiled at her before ( _obviously_ ),but there had been a shift after that night. Iris _glowed_  at her. Amber had a difficult time deciphering why or how, but all she knew was that she did and Amber would do anything to keep it that way.

As if Amber had magically willed her to appear, the subject of her thoughts advanced from the school, nearly bumping into the loitering blonde.

“Amber!” her voice rang across the now empty quad, “I’m seeing you after school for once.”

Amber felt awkward all of the sudden, standing there alone with her schoolbag and nowhere to go.

“Yeah, no waitressing today.” She was shooting for a poised smile, but damn her new expressiveness because she was sure she just grimaced.

To her surprise, Amber felt her hand being captured and her whole body being dragged along away from the school’s entrance. 

“Finally! You’re coming along to the park. Cyrus and maybe some others are supposed to meet me there."

Amber vaguely noted how her skin tingled with the warm, solid feel of Iris’ hand in her own.

“Aren’t you two broken up?”

Iris’ eyebrows screw into a troubled expression for a moment before shaking her head. “Yes, but we aren’t on bad terms. It’s a little hard on my end, but we’re friends."

They approached Iris’ car and her father was quickly informed that Amber would be needing a ride as well. This being the first time encountering him, Amber gave her most charming grin. 

The rest of the ride consisted of Amber clasping her hands in her lap, regarding the passing houses, trying to rid of the tingling sensation left by Iris’ hand. She found herself trying to remember how her body used to react to Jonah holding her hand and came up blank. Perhaps she’d been too preoccupied with showing off the hand holding that she didn’t register the exchange?

Amber took solace in the fact that she had this time alone in the backseat to regroup. She’d been scooped up by Iris to join in with a group of pretty cool middle schoolers, something she hadn’t estimated.  More importantly, this meant more time with Iris outside of school. She’d have to text her mom that she wouldn’t be home for a while- hopefully- after a successful outting. You never know what could happen when Andi Mack’s crew was involved.


	4. Chapter 4

“Iris, I’m really not sure about this.” 

Amber watched timidly as Iris turned around from leading them through the playground area. This had been a bad idea and the more the thought about it, the more she’d wished she had created some sort of excuse to get out of coming. Andi wouldn’t want her there and would start a biting dialogue towards Amber, something she knew she deserved but didn’t think she could handle right then. Cyrus would act anxiously around her like always, but what most disconcerted Amber would be watching Iris levitate to Cyrus’ side and abandon hers. Buffy would be downright merciless, she knew.

Amber’s worries accumulated, and she almost missed the way Iris had come back a few paces and was now sweeping her dark eyes between Amber’s light ones. She took in Amber’s worried brow and must have found something she was looking for because her face softened and Amber suddenly felt hands in her own. 

“Amber, you don’t have to be scared. I won’t let anyone say anything bad about you being here, especially since it was my invitation”  Iris’ words calm Amber immediately like cooling balm to a burn, “Also, who knows, they might not even make it or anything.”

“What do you mean?” The frown returned to Amber’s face, this time out of confusion. 

Then, to Amber’s surprise, Iris’ face colored with embarrassment. Her eyes flickered away from Amber’s for the first time since she’d looked at her and her hands twitched nervously within Amber’s.

“Um, well…I might have made up the part about Cyrus and them coming along.” 

At that, Amber gave her a cagey look.

“Hear me out,” Iris quickly continued, “I am supposed to meet up with them today…just not at the park. We were going to the movies, but when I saw you after school, I thought about how much I want to spend time with you. Then when you said you didn’t have work- which by the way _finally_ \- I knew I had to take the opportunity. I couldn’t invite you to the movies because that’s a lot of just looking at a screen.”

Amber listened carefully, but shook her head trying to comprehend. “Why didn’t you just ask?”

“Sense of urgency? An excuse? I don’t know.” Iris’ cheeks flushed a deeper red and Amber marveled at it.

“You definitely don’t need an excuse for us to hang out. I actually really like this turn of events.”

The two smile at each other and a certain feeling lingers in the air before the spell is broken by a loud squeal from a child going down the slide.

Iris turns back around with a mischievous grin, “Race you.”

Her hand darts out to lightly nudge the spot below Amber’s right collarbone before she spins around to run away, her dark hair sailing elegantly along with her abrupt movements. She only turns her head over her shoulder to flash the blonde a wide grin.

For her part, Amber stood in a slight daze staring after the girl in awe, hyperaware of the spot Iris had touched tingling in the same way it had earlier from the hand holding. However, she didn’t think much of it. 

Before too long, Amber was indulging in the playfulness of the situation, chasing after Iris laughing and yelling competitive assertions. At one point, they migrated their little chase to the side where a walking path was, and that’s where Amber caught up, capturing Iris by winding her arms around her waist. They were both laughing and stumbled together from the force of stopping. 

They hadn’t realized that an aged lady, probably a little younger than Amber’s grandma, had to stop her power walk unexpectedly in order to prevent crashing into the two teenage girls. The woman possessed a sort of permanent scowl, but looked exceptionally unhappy from this development.

She looked upon the grinning, enveloped girls with displeasure.

“Excuse me,” she jeered brazenly despite the polite connotation of her language, “some are trying to walk along with path. You two ladies shouldn’t be so boisterous, if you knew what was good for you.”

Their laughter faded and they moved off the path quickly from being reprimanded by an authority figure. Iris uttered a hasty, “sorry” before the crotchety woman left them, grumbling about today’s youth as she went. Amber found her hand had protectively gone to Iris’ shoulder.

“Jeez, wasn’t that lady ever a teenage girl, and not an old hag,” Amber scoffed as soon as she was out of earshot. Immediately after the words left her lips, Amber’s eyes widened and her hands flailed helplessly in protest. "Sorry, sorry. That was old Amber talking. We should’ve been more aware, and she’s probably a…nice lady."

Iris lightly laughed in a very pure-hearted- very Iris way, “Don’t worry, she did seem a little grouchy about something. Bad day, maybe?”

They headed back over to the play structure, this time to the set of many swings lined up in a row. They took the section with two open swings, lightly swaying in companionship for several minutes. The sun was beginning to set and families were leaving for dinner. After a while, the only sound was the occasional chirp of a bird or the creak of metal from their swings. Amber didn’t remember ever feeling so at peace in all of her adolescence. 

Iris broke the silence first. “Hey, Amber?”

The blonde made a noncommittal noise to indicate to her to continue. Her swinging became even slower as she leaned her cheek against the cool metal chain.

“I think I’m figuring you out.”

Amber squinted one eye at her to see a playful smile that faded to one more earnest. More warmth spread throughout her chest and she didn’t understand how she could be feeling this way. 

Deciding to avert some of the intensity to more lightheartedness, she joked, “I hope so, someone has to. I’m still not sure myself.” The statement came out heavier than anticipated, but it seemed to only stretch Iris’ smile wider.

“Yeah..” At this point, they’d both slowed to the point where they were just hanging from slighting moving chairs, smiling at one another lazily. Iris inched her foot towards Amber’s and knocked the two together softly.

Amber’s heart did a flip.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Really struggling with the Iris/Amber content. We’ve gotten some of the two (I guess?), but they were in totally separate parts of the show. Andi Mack needs more of these two and less of the excessive daddy/mommy drama. It's a tiny chapter using whatever I could get and some of my own ideas. I will be editing tomorrow so ignore mistakes.

Amber awoke to the lovely sound of a woman’s wrathful timbre drifting through her shut bedroom door. It took more than a moment between her morning grogginess and unfamiliarity of the voice to realize that it was in fact her mother in which the fear inducing sounds came from. The normally airy, feminine voice of her put-together birth mother cracked like a whip, the sharp syllables with the intention to slash and wound.

Cautiously, Amber slipped from her covers, took a look in her mirror to swipe under her eyes and smooth down any misplaced hair before padding to her door. The muffled voice was still in attack mode, but a second voice joined in, just as agitated. This voice was unmistakably her father's- doused in condescension and irritation, his deeper timbre a far more worrisome sound.

Amber couldn’t make out what exactly was being said, but she stood there until her father’s voice faded off followed by the slam of the front door. She opened the door to her mother’s retreating form. Her work clothes looked more wrinkled than usual as she grabbed a wine glass from the cabinet, and poured herself a hefty amount. The woman turned to Amber without a drop of dishevelment across her features, though her eyes, Amber’s same eyes, betrayed her screaming distress.

Watching as her mom desperately sipped away at her wine at ten o’clock on a Sunday morning, Amber shifted on her feet.

When it became clear that Amber would need to take the initiative in the discussion, she walked closer. “Can I go to the Renaissance Fair today? Iris is going and she invited me to come along with her. We'll be with a group.”

Her mother regarded her with sharp eyes and took a long swig in response. Amber continued, eyebrows scrunched upwards involuntarily.

“It’s not even my kind of thing really, but I figured that doing something different would be good for me! Who knows, maybe it won’t be as lame as it sounds. And- and Iris totally convinced me with the cute outfits and dresses and flower crowns-“

“Amber.” The young blonde bit her lip and glanced to the side at the interruption. The kitchen counter became very interesting all the sudden.

Her mother gave her a withering look, one that said she would rather be doing anything than have her daughter request anything more from her.

“We can’t be indulging in all these unnecessary events anymore.” Another sip of wine. "You have work today, don’t you? Mr. Davis would have called if you had today off, something I’ve told you that you must request for ahead of time in person,” she sighed and placed the glass down with timeless grace Amber only hoped to inherit one day, "Really, you need to learn these things, Amber. You can’t enter the adult world without them.”

Amber held in an exasperated sigh. Mostly she felt the sinking feeling of hope as she carefully slid around her mother to the cereal cabinet. Always careful.

So, once again, she wouldn’t be joining Iris for something that the other girl had been excited to do with her. She’d been so animated when talking about it, filling Amber’s head with tantalizing images of the two of them having fun and filling her heart with false hope. The fact of the matter was that she would pay her whole months paycheck to just spend a perfect day like that with Iris. To let go of her ever growing worries and responsibilities for a few blissful hours.

It was just downright unfair to Amber that she could not do teenager things anymore, nor even get the time to be with her best friend. Her best friend that had truly been her life savior over the passed weeks. Amber felt like she could keep her last shred of sanity as long as their time apart was not too extended, yet it always seemed like the universe was not on her side.

It had just been the other day when Amber had had to cancel on her and Iris’ movie plans because her father had stumbled through the front door in a drunken stupor and was unable to drive her. Her mother was, of course, taking long shifts in the office, happy to have an excuse to not have to berate her husband’s behavior back home. The day before that, it had been their study plans cancelled.

She was just about to retire and wallow in silent, self righteous defeat in peace when her mother continued her tirade, clearly not finished.

“How were you planning on getting there, Amber? Your father just took the only car we have now, shoved off to God knows where!” she aggressively pointed off in the distance, wine slushing to the rim of her glass with the movement, "The public transportation is shit in this town. Oh- and don’t get me started on the tickets-“

The younger blonde watched as her mother breezed by her dismissively, glass and now bottle still in hand. The woman didn’t seem to even be talking to her anymore as her voice cut off with the slam of her bedroom door.

Amber blinked for a few still seconds, a little stunned by the remaining electricity in the air. Before she knew it, she was deflating like a balloon, appetite long forgotten. Without thinking, she searched for her phone.

She yearned for her icy chest to fill with swelling sunshine warmth that, somehow, Iris seemed to bring. She needed it or she thought she just might permanently solidify from the inside out.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, if you're still reading and enjoying this (or hating it but being forced to read it cause of the lack of fanfics in this fandom), you can hit me up. My tumblr is: jumbled-juliet.


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